Alarm-clock.



W. E. PORTER.

ALARM CLOCK;

APPLICATION FILED AUG.21,1915.

1 ,240,482 Patented Sept 18, 1917. 2 SHEETSSHEET I.

17% I I 'y ""m/ Patented Sept. 18,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 W. E. PORTER.

ALARM CLOCK. APPLICATION FILED Aue.21.1su5.

wILsoN E. PORTER, on NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT,

ASSIGNOR. TO NEW HAVEN CLOCK 00., OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION.

Specification of Letters Patent. I

ALARM-CLOCK.

Patented Sept. 18, 1917.

Application filed August 21, 1915. Serial No. 46,604.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILSON E. PORTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Alarm- Clocks; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the ac companying drawings and the characters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this application, and represent, in

Figure 1 a view in front elevation of an alarm clock constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 a view of the cloclcmovement in front elevation with the dial, hands and pointer removed.

Fig. 3 a broken view of the clock-movement in vertical central section.

One of the difficulties connected with the use of an alarm clock as commonly constructed, is, that the userhas had no way of determining at any given time whether the alarm-mechanism is, so to speak, in the twelve-hour phase or in the second twelve-hour phase of the twenty-four hour alarm interval, with respect to the goingofi" of, or sounding of the alarm. To make sure that the alarm-mechanism is properly set, as Well as to set or to reset the alarm, the user of the clock is now obliged to turn the hands of the clock until the alarm goes off, to show him its phase of operation, or, as the case may be, to give him a starting point, fromwhich to set or reset the alarm. Without this precaution of turning the hands around to test out the running phase of the alarm-mechanism, the alarm may go off in the wrong phase, as, for instance, at 5.30 P. M; instead of 5.30 A. M.

The object of my present invention is to provide an alarm. clock with means for showing its user whether or not he can depend upon it to go off as set, in the A. M. or in the P. M.

With these ends in view, my invention consists in an alarm clock having an A. M. and a P. M. hand driven by the time-mechanism of the clock over an alarm-dial having A. M. and P. M. indications. My invention further consists in an alarm clock having certain details of construction and combinations of parts as will be hereinafter described and pointed out in the claim.

In carrying out my invention as herein shown, I employ an alarm-hand 2 which for want of a better term, I shall term nn ELM. and P. M. alarm-hand. This hand is mounted upon the outer end of a hub turning loosely upon the hour-hand socket t carrying the hour-hand 5 and turning loosely upon the center arbor 6 the projecting forward end of which carries the minute-hand 7. The inner end of the said hub 3 is provided with a wheel 8 meshing into a wheel 9 on a hub 10 turning on a stud. 11. in the front movement-plate 12, the said hub 10 also carrying a wheel 13 meshing into and driven by the wide hour-hand socket-wheel 14 which is staked upon the hub 15 of the hour-wheel 16 which turns loosely upon the center-arbor 6. As shown, the hour-wheel 16 is driven by the dialpinion 17 carried by the dial-wheel l8 driven by the cannon-pinion 19 staked upon the center-arbor 6.

Under the construction described, the A. M. and P. M. alarm-hand 2 is driven by the time mechanism of the clock in consonance with the hour and minute hands 5 and 7 thereof. While the said hands 5 and 7 sweep over an ordinary time-dial 20, the alarm-hand 2 sweeps over a concentric alarm-dial 21 having two sets of figures running from 1 to 12 which divide the dial into the A. M. and P. M. phases of a twelvehour day, these phases being indicated by AM. and P. M. placed upon the dial at points diametrically opposite each other on a horizontal line. Therefore, while the hand 2 is driven by the time-mechanism in consonance with the hour and minute-hands 5 and 7, it will always appear at a glance as being located in either the A. M. or P. M. division of the alarm-dial 21, whereas the hands 5 and 7 in themselves do not indicate day or night.

For setting the alarm, setting pointer 22 also arranged to sweep over the alarm-dial 21 and mounted upon the sleeve 23 of an alarmsetting pinion 24 arranged to turn loosely upon the hub 3 of the alarm-hand 2, the said pinion 24 being meshed into by a wheel 25 staked upon the forward end of the alarm-setting arbor 26 the rear end of which projects in the ordi- I employ an alarmnary manner through the back of the clockcam 29 co-acting with a pin 30 mounted transversely in the forward end of the arbor 26. The said alarm-cam wheel 28 meshes into the wide hour-hand socket-wheel 14 already described. The said cone 27 operates a horizontally arranged lever 31 forming no part of my present invention and not necessary to the operation thereof. This lever, together with its connections, is shown and described in my prior Patent No. 956,824, dated May 3, 1910. A helical spring 32 interposed between the front movementplate 12 and the said cone 27, exerts a constant effort to press the edge of the alarmcam 29 against the pin 30.

In the use of my improved alarm clock, the alarm-mechanism is set in the usual manner by manually turning the alarm-setting arbor 26 so as to cause the alarm-setting pointer 22 to-sweep over the alarm-dial 21 until the desired position in the A. M. or P. M. division thereof is reached, according as it is desired to have the alarm go off in the first or in thesecond twelve-hours of the day. If at the time the alarm is set, the alarm-hand 2 indicates the correct time of day on the alarm-dial 21, the alarm may be relied upon to go ofi at the time indicated by the alarm-setting hand 22. If, however, the alarm-hand 2 does not indicate the right time of day at the time the alarm is set, then the center-arbor 6 must be manually operated by the button at its rearend in the usual manner, until the hand-pointer 2 indicates upon the alarm-dial 21 the correct time of day. On the other hand, suppose that the clock is running under a previous setting of the alarm-mechanism and the user of the clock is uncertain as to whether or not the alarm will go off in accordance with its previous setting, (for instance, the clock since that time may have been allowed to run down), he has only to consult the position -minute hands driven of the alarm-hand 2 which, if it indicates the then correct time of day or night, as the case may be, will assure him beyond peradventure, that the alarm will go of at the expected time. In other words, whenever the hand 2 indicates upon the alarm-dial 21 the then correct time of day or night, the alarm will surely go olf at the time indicatedby the alarm-setting pointer22 so that in case the hand 2 indicates the correct time, the user of the clock need have no further concern about the proper sounding of the alarm. If the hand 2 does not indicate'the then correct time, the center-arbor 6 must be manually turned until the said hand 2 is brought into place to indicate the correct time upon the alarm-dial 21, the setting of the hand 2 in such manner being accom' panied by the appropriate setting of the hour and minute-hands 5 and 7 which always synchonize with the hand 2.

I claim:

In an alarm clock, the combination with the time-mechanism thereof, of a 12 hour time-dial, a non-rotatable 24 hour alarm-dial arranged concentric with the said timeedial, smaller than the same and indicating A. M. and P. M. divisions of a day, hour an by the said time mechanism over the time-dial, an A. ML and P. M. alarm-hand arranged concentric with the said dials and driven by the said timemechanism for indicatingthe correct timeof day or night upon the said 24 hour alarmdial, a normally stationary concentric alarmsetting pointer arranged concentric with the said hour and minute hands and alarm hand and located in front of the said dials and back of the said hour and minute and alarm hands and adapted to be swept over the alarm-dial in setting the alarm, mags located at one side of the center-arbor of the time-mechanism for manually setting. the alarm-setting pointer from the back of the clock, and an alarm-mechanism driven by the time-mechanism and operating to let 0 the alarm without disturbing the lateral position of the said alarni-settinghand with respect to the said hour and minute and alarm-hands- WILSON E. PORTER Copies of this patent may beobtained for five cents each, by addressing the Oommiialonor o! Patentt, Washington, D. G. 

